LONDON, November 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
A delegation from PhosAgro took part in the Russian-British
Business Forum, which was held in London for the fourth time.
The Company delegation included Andrey A. Guryev, PhosAgro CEO
and President of the Russian Association of Fertilizer Producers;
Andrey G. Guryev, Deputy Chairman of PhosAgro's Board of Directors
and Vice President of the Russian Union of Chemists; PhosAgro's
Deputy CEO for International Projects, Siroj Loikov; and PhosAgro's
Deputy CEO for Business Development, Roman
Osipov.
The purpose of the forum is to develop Russian-British economic
relations and trade and investment cooperation between Russia and the international business
community. At the annual forum, Russian and British experts assess
market dynamics and international trade relations, identify trends
in the economy and investor interests and determine ways to expand
trade and economic cooperation.
Speaking at a reception at the Russian Embassy in the
United Kingdom on the occasion of
the forum, PhosAgro CEO Andrey A. Guryev thanked the
Embassy and the Trade Delegation of the Russian Federation in the United Kingdom for their efforts to promote
the interests of Russian business. He noted that ongoing dialogue
between Russia and the
United Kingdom had already brought
qualitative results: "With overall growth in trade between
Russia and the United Kingdom of 18.7% in the first half of
2018, non-resource exports increased by over 50%."
During his speech at a panel session titled 'Innovations and
technologies as a factor of export development', Andrey
Guryev spoke about the successful experience of introducing
innovative and best-available technologies and digital solutions
based on the Industry 4.0 platform in the construction of new
high-tech production facilities and the modernisation of existing
ones at PhosAgro enterprises. It is these factors, along with the
high quality and purity of the Company's products, constant work to
improve labour efficiency and productivity, as well as to optimise
business processes and costs, that strengthen PhosAgro's
competitive advantages in non-resource-based export markets.
According to Andrey Guryev, the development of both the
mineral fertilizer industry and PhosAgro Group have always been
centred around innovation. Long ago, the transition was made from
delivering the main nutrient components - nitrogen, phosphate and
potash - to offering a single product with the proper combination
of these nutrients, after which complex solutions were devised to
tailor fertilizer grades and their proper application to maximise
yield. Modern solutions for managing the yield and quality of
agricultural products are based not only on mineral raw materials,
but also on the use of bio-additives and innovative agricultural
technologies. In our mining and production operations, we are
introducing robotic mining equipment, and we are implementing
advanced data management technologies to further increase the
efficiency of our operations.
Innovative solutions in the production of mineral fertilizers
are supported by the only research institute on fertilizers and
insectofungicides in the industry in Russia, the Y V Samoilov Research Institute
for Insectofungicides and Mineral Fertilizers, a subsidiary of
PhosAgro, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year.
This institute was founded with the mission of creating a robust
phosphate feedstock and mineral fertilizer production capabilities
in Russia.
PhosAgro also works with leading international agricultural
research organisations to help farmers increase crop yields through
the proper use of fertilizers. Recently, during a large-scale
experiment with the International Plant Nutrition Institute in the
Vologda Region, high-precision fertilizer application techniques
were used to achieve an impressive 30% increase in yield, while the
number of harvests per year increased from three to four.
Over the past five years, more than RUB
150 billion (USD 2.5 billion)
has been invested in R&D and the development of PhosAgro as a
whole, i.e., which represents at least 50% of EBITDA.
Together with UNESCO, PhosAgro promotes scientific and applied
research in the field of green chemistry, thus contributing to
higher production efficiency and environmental conservation, while
involving young scientists from around the world.
Commenting on the possibility of increasing the volume of
high-tech, non-resource exports based on the example of PhosAgro's
supply of fertilizers to the United
Kingdom, Andrey Guryev noted that the Company
is constantly analysing potential opportunities that will make
PhosAgro's safe and pure fertilizers more accessible to local
farmers producing products for British and other European buyers.
"PhosAgro's annual supply of fertilizers to the UK varies in the
range of 60,000 to 110,000 tonnes, which accounts for less than 10%
of the country's imports of phosphate-based fertilizers, and we see
significant growth potential," said Andrey Guryev, stressing that
the removal of the EU's 6.5% customs tariff on fertilizers from
Russia would contribute to
this.
About the Company
PhosAgro is one of the world's leading vertically integrated
phosphate-based fertilizer producers in terms of production volumes
of phosphate-based fertilizers and high-grade phosphate rock with a
P2O5 content of 39% and higher.
The Company is the largest phosphate-based fertilizer producer
in Europe (by total combined
capacity for DAP/MAP/NP/NPK/NPS), the largest producer of
high-grade phosphate rock with a P2O5 content
of 39%, a top-three producer of MAP/DAP globally, one of the
leading producers of feed phosphates (MCP) in Europe, and the only producer in Russia, and Russia's only producer of nepheline
concentrate (according to the RAFP).
PhosAgro's main products include phosphate rock, 39 grades of
fertilizers, feed phosphates, ammonia, and sodium tripolyphosphate,
which are used by customers in 100 countries spanning all of the
world's inhabited continents. The Company's priority markets
outside of Russia and the CIS are
Latin America, Europe and Asia.
PhosAgro's shares are traded on the Moscow Exchange, and Global
Depositary Receipts (GDRs) for shares trade on the London Stock
Exchange (under the ticker PHOR). Since 1
June 2016, the Company's GDRs have been included in the MSCI
Russia and MSCI Emerging Markets indexes.
More information about PhosAgro can be found on the website:
http://www.phosagro.ru .
